A Howard County-appointed committee created through Executive Calvin Ball’s “Safe and Sound” plan has recommended the creation of a Community Development Organization (CDO) focused on the revitalization and sustainability of historic Ellicott City.
In his announcement on June 14, County Executive Ball expressed the importance of the Committee’s final report, “Their recommendations will help guide us toward a future of economic development, revitalization, and job creation. We will be moving with a sense of urgency to create the Community Development Organization that will best serve the needs of Ellicott City.”
As stated in the report, the CDO could be formed as a non-profit organization with professional staff and a board of directors and be inclusive of all of Ellicott City’s residents and stakeholders. Coordinating with the existing organizations and agencies working throughout the region, the Committee determined that there is a need for an organization focused on addressing the unique economic development and revitalization challenges of the Ellicott City Watershed area.
Some of the ways that the CDO will meet its mission is:
- the management of County-acquired Ellicott City properties
- develop strong public/private partnerships in Howard County and beyond
- provide creative financial solutions to flood preparedness and historic structure maintenance
Preservation Maryland Executive Director, Nicholas A. Redding was appointed to the Committee by Executive Ball. Redding has led the organization’s response and active engagement in Ellicott City after both the 2016 and 2018 flood and voiced the necessity of retaining Ellicott City’s historic character as a source of future economic prosperity.
The next steps outlined in the Committee’s report include; setting geographic boundaries, forming a steering committee to provide guidance and synthesize public input, exploring financial models, and potentially filing the necessary state and federal paperwork. The Committee has already drafted some of these undertakings with the goal of expediting the CDO’s creation, a sense of urgency that is shared with the County Administration to address the needs of Ellicott City.